You already have everything you need. Your authentic Soul voice is bright, beautiful, and patently waiting to freely express itself.

Its quiet voice is always speaking to you, through what we call intuition, even if you can’t quite hear it now. We all have intuition… it’s our inner knowing, or what I like to call the language of our Soul. It’s the part of you that speaks the truth about who you are and what you want. So basically, it’s your life road map to living your purpose, and your most fulfilled, joyful life!

If we get present and follow its urges when we sit down to create, we will develop an art journaling practice that can ultimately bring us more confidence, happiness, self-awareness, healing, and a newfound sense of wholeness.

If doing that feels impossible for you right now, then for one reason or another, your mind is trying to protect you from letting your creative spirit free, from letting your intuitive Soul lead the way. (You’re not alone! It’s a totally natural part of being human.) The key then, is to go gently, with compassion, and start to build trust between your mind and your intuitive Soul.

Your mind is so used to being in control and predicting outcomes. For us to truly get present and follow our Soul’s whims one step at a time, means to step into the scary unknown. That place of unknowing, of uncertainty, can feel dark and filled with monsters. We will hold on for dear life and fight tooth and nail not to be thrown off the edge into that scary space!

So the only way in, is to start slow, start gently, hold that compassion for the part of you that’s scared sh**less, celebrate yourself every step of the way, and build trust that when you listen to your intuition, everything will indeed be okay.

TIP: Practice being present and becoming an observer of your thoughts. When fears or judgements come up, acknowledge it without running away, then choose courage – what one step are you willing to take next?

I so hope that you have found this Soul Truths series to be helpful and inspiring!

If you would love to get more support around connecting to and building trust with your creative, intuitive Soul so that you may express yourself more fully in your journal (and in life!), then I invite you to join me and a community of other Soul Seekers in my 6-week program Creative Soul Roots. (We start October 2nd!)

In it, I’ll guide you through a series of fun, creative exercises that will help you to put these Soul Truths into action, nurture your creative Soul, and develop the skills needed to get out of your head and into your heart. Click Here for more info & to reserve your spot!

Whether you decide to join us or not, I know for certain that if you’re here, then creative expression is the path you were meant to take to help liberate your Soul. I know you can do this, don’t give up!

Unfortunately our society tends to dismiss play for adults, and perceives it as unproductive, petty, or as a “guilty pleasure”. We’ve formed the belief that in order for something to be meaningful or legitimate, we have to work hard at it. Yet recent studies are showing us that play and rest are essential; it’s just as important as getting enough sleep, eating well, and exercise.

Play helps us to relieve stress, manage emotions, connect deeper with ourselves, and create stronger and more meaningful bonds with others.

The truth is, we can simultaneously be productive, be helpful, be of service, finish our tasks, AND be light, playful beings. Because play has more to do with your willingness to be uninhibited, to be imaginative, to be joyful. Play is about allowing yourself to express your spirit without restraint. Play is about allowing yourself to be YOU.

Play is more than just being child-like, is a transformative, vulnerable state to be in. It’s surrender of the ego. It’s choosing curiosity and aliveness. It’s letting go of outcomes or expectations, and being fully present to the here and now. It’s responding to what’s happening with curiosity, instead of reacting – and there’s where real transformation can happen.

And when you pair play with expressing yourself in an art journal, it becomes a vehicle for powerful healing! Art journaling is a beautiful (and fun!) way to free your Soul, and to facilitate your self growth; allowing you to explore and express your inner self. It shouldn’t be put on your “guilty pleasures” list – with it directly linked to our mental health, it should be top priority!

It doesn’t have to be as hard and stressful as we sometimes make it out to be either. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to do it “right”, and to search for meaning. But change, transformation, and self expression can happen with ease and play! As long as you allow yourself to play and follow your intuition, the transformation you seek will naturally happen. So stop stressing yourself out about art journaling. You can’t do it wrong!

You are here to dance a splendid dance in this lifetime and to feel the fullness of who you are! Allow play to be the easeful, fun way in which you align yourself and your life with who you truly are!

TIP: Start by practicing showing up to your art journal and committing to just one minute of play with paints or crayons. And if possible, create with young children – kids are masters at play and creativity, let them lead the way!

A creative block can show up in many different ways. Perhaps you’ve just been stuck in avoidance or procrastination. Perhaps you’ve been caught in the research trap, constantly watching YouTube videos or tutorials. Perhaps you keep buying new supplies, gathering so much that you now feel overwhelmed by the choices or you actually forget what you have. Perhaps you have a loud inner critic that’s telling you that you aren’t good enough, so why bother. Perhaps you approach your journal tentatively, so afraid of messing things up or doing it “wrong”.

However you experience your stuck, if you try to force through it or yell at your inner critic to ‘shut up’ (or ignore it!), you’re only digging yourself deeper into the rut.

Look, we live in a world where the logical mind is King. Our culture, especially here in the US, relies so heavily on the mind and the “left-brain” way of thinking. We honor logic, structure, speed, control; so much so that we often let our minds run on auto-pilot. Your mind is used to being in control. To let go, so that you can create freely, is really scary and threatening.

If you’re feeling like there’s a force field between you and your art materials, you’re probably right. Your mind (aka ego, aka inner critic) will do anything to protect you. It will do anything to stay in control, the way you were taught to. It will do anything to protect your inner child or inner artist from getting hurt again. So yelling at it, or trying to force it to stand down so your intuitive, creative Soul can lead the way, will only make it stand firmer in place.

Your mind is only doing it’s job. And it’s scared to let go. The only way to loosen its grip, is to face it bravely with compassion. (The climax scene in Disney’s movie Moana comes to mind!)

TIP: Start practicing compassion with yourself. Then, start exploring: What would help your mind to feel safe enough to play in an art journal?

Practicing in an art journal isn’t about figuring out how to do it, it’s about learning to navigate your inner world and the unknown. You don’t have to know what you’re doing, to know what you’re doing. You may never discover a formula, and when expressing yourself, you will never know where it will lead; but what you will discover, is what works for you in terms of feeling into your intuition, getting past the hard parts, finding the joy, and navigating the fear monsters.

We often crave rules and step-by-step instruction because we want to do it “right”. We want to know what to expect. We want to know what we’re heading into. Predictability feels safe. Control feels safe. But with true, authentic creative expression, there is no right or wrong. There is no step-by-step guide. We need to embrace the unexpected. We need to be open to mystery and surprise! In fact, the less you know, the better.

I know all too well how easy it is to get caught up in the excitement of art journaling – delving into the infinite possibilities of techniques, and exploring how other people approach their journal. We tend to over complicate things (at least, I know I do!), especially when we want to learn something new. We dive deep into learning everything there is to know about it, searching for the one “right” way to do it. We start comparing our work to others’. We get hung up with how-to’s and perfecting… unintentionally squashing the fun-loving, curious part of ourselves that just wants to create and play with child-like freedom.

But for your Soul to shine through onto the page (and into your life!), you must get out of your head, and into your heart. You must step into that space of the unknown… That place where you have no idea what to expect next. That place where anything can happen. That’s where the magic lies!

TIP: Approach your journal without a plan and without a vision. You don’t (and shouldn’t!) know how you’re going to start or where it’s going to lead. Instead, follow your intuitive urges one step at a time, allowing something to emerge naturally.

Welcome to my mini series – Soul Truths! My hope is that if you’ve been feeling creatively stuck, what I share will help you get clear on why that is, and inspire you to start trusting in your Creative Soul once more!

But, that doesn’t mean you should be creating gorgeous art right out the gate. If you’re just returning to your creativity, or just starting to learn to create from your Soul (versus copying others or an image), then you’re going to suck at it. But that’s okay!

Here’s the deal – We ALL were born as curious, creative beings. If you’re human, you have the ability to be creative. You can think of it as a quality within you that’s perhaps been stifled, or you can imagine that there’s a stream of creativity that’s available for everyone to tap into – you just gotta learn to do the tapping in. We all started out trusting our creativity (have you ever watched children create!?), but for one reason or another, that part of us got left behind. So to begin our journey of learning to authentically express ourselves with art, we must start from where we left off… as beginners.

You can’t expect to be able to do something as well as someone else who’s been practicing for years. Don’t let other artists’ work intimidate you or make you feel not good enough… They’ve likely been practicing for much longer, and if you stick with it, you’ll get better at it too.

Your inner artist, is most likely a young child who’s so eager to play, to create, to explore, to have FUN! It doesn’t need criticizing or judgment from you, only encouragement. We must allow our inner artists to be that child, that beginner; paying less attention to what our expressions look like, and more attention to how it FEELS.

The more you allow yourself to play, experiment, and make mistakes, you’ll start to build a foundation and understanding of how things come together so you can start finding your own authentic style!

TIP: Don’t isolate yourself. Find community support with other beginners and have fun! (And perhaps step away from Pinterest and Instagram for a while!)

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About Kristal

Kristal is a creative life coach who helps women reclaim their creative magic, reconnect with their Soul, and realize their innate magnificence so they can lead a more authentic, fulfilling life. Click here to read more...